Debilitated
by heystella
Summary: All he wants now is to make her see that she belongs to him. Neji/Hinata. Sequel to Pathogen.


**Debilitated**  
by Kaiyrah

All he wants now is to make her see that she belongs to him. Neji/Hinata. Sequel to "Pathogen."

Naruto and characters are not mine.

Notes: Alright, so Pathogen is one of those stories that I come back to read every once in a while and think to myself "Why don't I finish this?" And I figure that if it's been bugging me for two years, it's time to do something about it. Obviously my writing style has changed a bit, so I apologize for the inconsistency. This is part 2 of a three-story trilogy.

* * *

After doing some research, he learns that she is currently living in a one-bedroom apartment across town, just minutes away from the river. Hinata has always had a greater appreciation for nature than he; it doesn't alarm him that she would want to move closer to the whispering waters.

She is also in closer proximity to the Inuzuka clan residence, which does alarm him.

The news should not upset him. Kiba has been her teammate for years now, and they've forged a friendship that is only natural to shinobi who have shared close quarters and battled alongside one another. She entrusts her life to Kiba and she probably trusts him with details of her personal life more than anyone in the world. Neji knows that although they may not be romantically linked, they have a relationship that runs deeper than colleagues, comrades, or nakama.

It shouldn't upset him that she has moved across town to be closer to her best friend and confidant.

But still, his fingers itch to wrap around Kiba's neck whenever he is near.

* * *

If there is one thing that displeases him about being Head of Hyuuga, it is the regular meetings with the council. They are just a formality, really, and it is only once in a blue moon that something that merits a worthwhile discussion actually comes up. Most other times, the meetings just consist of a group of old men making forcibly polite small talk with one another.

Today is different. The room falls into hushed whispers as he enters, and as he sits at the head of the table, all of their white eyes lie on him.

"Neji-sama." A humble bow from each elder.

"Honorable council," he returns formally, and mimics their gesture. "What subject is on the agenda today?"

Hiashi clears his throat and Neji turns to face his uncle. "This is a matter of your legacy, Neji."

He freezes upon hearing the word. He did not expect this moment to come so soon - although to be fair, it was common knowledge that most Hyuuga heirs had chosen a consort by their eighteenth birthday, and marriage came soon after the twentieth birthday.

"As the heir, you must find a suitable wife to continue the Hyuuga family line," Hiashi continues. "Can you think of any potential brides?"

As soon as the words leave Hiashi's lips, Neji's mind fills with a whirlwind of images. Paper-white eyes, so much like his own. Dark hair the color of midnight. Flushed cheeks. A smile so bright, doused in sunshine. The mere thought of her - how he cannot see her anymore - brings an ache to his chest. He suppresses the urge to put a hand over his heart to quell the painful beating. "Not yet," he answers. "There's no one in mind."

* * *

For many weeks he is content to simply watch her. He was always the better ninja between the two of them, and she doesn't notice him when she climbs up the stairs to her second-floor apartment. She doesn't notice him when he crouches in the tree outside, observing her as she eats her meals by herself.

She comes home in nurse's clothes, and somehow that sight is much more welcome than the old sight of her dragging her feet home, bruised and bloodied from a mission. She has always been excessively kind, and finally she works in a job that suits her.

Until one night, she does not come home.

Neji stays until sunrise, attempting to sooth his jangled nerves.

But when she still does not return and he cannot see her with his Byakugan, he returns to the Hyuuga House, his brow creased with worry.

* * *

He is just leaving the Hokage's office when he hears a familiar voice approaching. From round the curve of the corridor, she tells someone to be careful, and offers to fetch a wheelchair. He hears an unintelligible grunt, and a scuffle of paws. He narrows his eyes.

Finally they enter his line of vision. Kiba grimaces as he leans on a crutch, Hinata supports his weight and carries an envelope - Kiba's mission report, no doubt - in her free hand. Akamaru barks and growls at Neji. "Kiba. Hinata," he nods in their direction.

His little cousin does everything to avoid meeting his gaze, and her grip on Kiba tightens ever so slightly. "N-Nii-sama."

"Neji," Kiba spits out, as if the name itself is poison.

The Head of Hyuuga raises a brow at the Inuzuka heir and he eyes the cast that wraps his leg before making his way past the pair. "Don't be so careless, Kiba. Next time you might injure more than your leg."

A low, feral growl escapes Kiba's throat, and Neji can sense his anger even without the Byakugan. "Why you fucking - "

"Kiba-kun," Hinata admonishes quietly, "Let's just go give this report to Hokage-sama, hmm?"

He blinks and briefly glances at Hinata, and her pleading expression is enough to make him drop the issue. "Tch, fine," he begrudgingly agrees, and continues to limp forward with her help.

And Neji tightens his fist. Because underneath Hinata's gentle scolding, there is genuine care, affection, love.

And he has never detected any of those from her voice since he was four years old.

* * *

Neji is now as unblemished as the day he was born, and he has everything he was ever wanted and more. He is at his rightful place as the Head of Hyuuga, with the respect of Hiashi, the council of elders, and the other noble clans in Konoha. He is revered not only for his already world-renown presence as a formidable ninja, but for his exceptional leadership skills as well. It was those leadership skills that earned him the rank of Jounin mere months after he passed the Chuunin exam.

She has been able to find freedom in ways he never thought possible. For her, the seal is not a padlock on a gilded cage. For her, the seal is a vast, open sky for her to explore. She smiles more often now with that offending mark on her head, and to Neji it is almost a mockery of the fate that he preached about all those years ago.

Still, eventually a bird in flight must come home.

Hinata's wide eyes tell him that she did not expect - did not _want_ - to see him sitting at her dining table. Despite that, she is ever the gracious host. "Can... can I pour you some tea, Neji-niisama?"

He shakes his head and crosses over to meet his cousin, his eyes boring into hers. "I am here to bring you home, Hinata."

* * *

"Have you chosen anyone?" Hiashi asks over dinner.

Neji's eyes sweep over the table; to his uncle reaching for another piece of fish, to Hanabi chewing on a pickled radish, to Hinata pouring another cup of tea for her father. His eyes linger on the latter.

This is his only chance. She has slipped away from him once, and he'll be damned if she does it again. If he wants her, he must put a lock on her cage.

Permanently.

"Hinata," he responds finally. "I choose Hinata."

Hiashi drops his chopsticks; they clatter loudly upon the porcelain tableware. Hanabi chokes on her food.

Hinata turns sharply to her father, her brows furrowed in confusion. She cautiously places the teacup in front of him, all the while rubbing her sister's back. "For what, Nii-sama?" She reaches for his teacup and keeps her eyes to her task, watching the steam curl up from the cup.

"You are to be my consort," Neji responds, watching her reaction.

The teapot hits the floor and shatters.

* * *

Hinata's movements are stiff and awkward. No doubt she is aware of his presence. Then again, he has not made much effort to conceal himself, as he leans against the doorway of the bathroom watching her every move. She sits on the ledge of the bathtub, foot propped up next to her as she wraps her cuts and burns in gauze. Perhaps if he had waited a few seconds more, when she was not holding a teapot, he could have avoided injuring her.

Then again, maybe not. He's always been particularly skilled at that.

He knows the question on her mind. It is a question that he's asked himself many times.

"Why?" she whispers. So confused, lost, pained.

She is weak. She was born weak and she will remain weak to the very end because of her frail heart that had sustained far too many injuries. Injuries that he had only exacerbated.

It is for the better, he decides. If her weakness keeps her by his side, then he is glad to have given her those injuries. Because today, he makes his own destiny.

Neji narrows his eyes at her. "Consider this payback for all of my years of suffering."

A single tear rolls down her cheek.

And some sick part of him enjoys the sight. "Your tears are useless, Branch House filth." With a smirk, he turns on his heel, leaving Hinata to lay her forehead down against her raised knee and sob.

* * *

Although she is to be his consort, she still does the menial tasks of a servant - bringing him meals when he is hungry, replenishing his teacup throughout the day, and waiting with a towel during his daily training sessions. But unless she is fulfilling those tasks, or he demands her presence, she steers clear of him whenever possible.

He finds her one evening in the Branch House compound, sitting in the hallway staring out into the horizon. Her gaze reflect the orange of the sky, but the distance in her eyes tells Neji that she's not really _seeing_ the sunset. He lets an amused smile lift the corner of his lip. She's probably still in shock at the news.

Well, she will have to get used to it eventually.

She is his now.

* * *

He's experienced anger many times before, but never like this.

His entire frame shakes with rage, and his muscles explode with a rush of hot blood, running through his arteries like lava. He can barely see straight; his eyes swim red.

She's gone again. In the span of a month, this is the third time she has disappeared. The first had been a few days after he chose her as his consort. The second just a week ago. For both occasions, he thought that a thorough scolding would be enough... but clearly he miscalculated her stubbornness.

"Hell if I know," Hanabi had snapped at him when he'd asked of her sister's whereabouts. "She's your fiancee, I'm surprised you're not keeping closer tabs on her."

If he could do away with the little brat, he would. But nothing can be done - she's part of the Main House. Just like him.

Her sister, on the other hand - well, she'll be sorry for her disobedience to say the least.

The nurses shoot him bewildered looks as he stalks through the hospital. She is not at the Branch House or at her apartment - he's checked all the usual spots, and there are very few places where she could be. He stops in front of a door - he can sense her chakra, along with _his_. What is she doing here? She should be at home.

His fist tightens, and just before he pushes the door open, he hears a strangled cry.

Foregoing all sense of common courtesy, Neji activates his Byakugan and focuses his gaze into the room. Briefly he sweeps his eyes across the floor until he sees two chakra webs, and the faint outlines of their bodies. Kiba's fingers wind tightly with Hinata's, his left hand fisted in the sheets.

He strains his hearing to listen in.

"What kind of fucked up shit is this?" Kiba demands, and for a moment his chakra flares in anger. "You make him the leader and this is how he repays you? By keeping you prisoner?"

"It's marriage, Kiba-kun," Hinata murmurs weakly. "It's - "

"It's slavery. That's what it is."

She doesn't argue.

"You gotta leave, Hinata. Run away, something! Anything to get out of that shithole."

"I wish I could," Hinata admits, and something inside Neji cracks at the forlorn tone of voice. "But if I do..." She taps her forehead.

Kiba swears once more. "Then I'll fight him." Neji holds back an indignant snort. "I'll beat him. And he'll have to accept."

"No!" For a moment she looks embarrassed by her outburst, and then she wraps her arms around Kiba's neck; he returns her embrace.

Now more than ever he wants to unleash on Kiba a chakra blast to the heart.

"I don't want you to get hurt," she whispers.

The Inuzuka pulls her closer, almost completely enveloping her, and the sight makes Neji want to burst in there and break Kiba's leg all over again. That desire only increases when Kiba pulls back just slightly to look her in the eye, his hands gently cradling the sides of her face as if she's some precious object. "There's gotta be some way out of it," he whispers, stroking her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "If not for you, then... for me."

A chill runs down Neji's spine and something tells him that he's not fully aware of something, like the child whose parents have kept a treasured secret from him. It is almost as if he is intruding on a sacred, intimate moment. But that's impossible, unless -

No. This can't go on any longer.

Without warning, Neji bursts through the door and the pair jump apart in shock.

"N-Neji-niisama!"

His eyes narrow purposefully at her. "It's time to go home."

Kiba growls. "Butt out, Neji - "

"Now," Neji presses, and wraps a vice-like grip around Hinata's wrist, forcefully wrenching her away from Kiba's grasp. She reaches out desperately for her former teammate, and he does the same, but Neji is the strongest and the fastest of the three of them and they're halfway out of the room before Kiba even makes it out of the bed on to his crutch.

The door slams on his angry protests.

* * *

A disturbing crack rips through the air as he slams her wrists against the wall. She's crying and sobbing and begging for him to stop, but she's tried his patience for the last time and he will not take it anymore.

"You are _mine_," he whispers harshly, right before claiming her mouth.

She'll have finger-shaped bruises on her wrists and bite marks along her neck tomorrow. She'll remember the burning, aching sensation in her brow. But she won't blame him. She will forgive him, eventually.

She always does.


End file.
